Theftproof billfold



Feb. 13, 1945. B. MILLER THEN-PROOF BILLFOLD Filed March 19, 1942:NVENTOR ATTORNEY.

Peienied Feb. 13, 1945 a TFIEFTPROOFISXLFLD nec B. Miller, West Bend,Wis. ,assignor to ngery Kress Company, West BenL-Wisf, acorpcration of.Wisconsin Aap'iiiioniion Minchia, 1942', sonni-No.- l135,333L

obiet oi niyyinvention is. to provide pocketbooku or billfoldconstruction 'which will physically resist.: 'Withdrawal frm the DQGktdi the wearer yand will thus vgive warning to the wearer when apiclpocket or other unauthorized person attempts to'pilfe.

invention to .provide ya'vffo'ld" o f abillfold pocketbook' sosh'apedand' connected to the me.N structure of the 4device that upon attemptedwitE drawalfrom the pocket ofthe wearer the device wir increase itsinterni dimensions one resist WithdiWaL l f f In .thedrawlng1 Fier-1 iserperispeetive of `my improved their,

nroofbi'ufoid-wiihon ofthe parie in ioideo rele-f Fig. is a perspectiveof my open billfvold. Eig'. 3 i s a section on line 3-'-3 or Fig. 2. u

Fi'g`4 is averiicai section through o pocket of' I s whioh ifs butit isof importance that theV extension be stiff,"

- othersuitable material, and to provide the neces" a sueded Iagainstthe pocl/et'of the wearer. Obviously, thisj a wearer of my"'billfold andshows my theft-proof billfold in somewhat diagrammatic outline.

Fig. 5 is ayiew similar to Fig'. 4 but showing my vtheftfproof billfoldas it would be disposed when partially withdrawn from the pocket by anunauthorized person.

reparte are designated by `the. 'some ref elr ence" charactersthroughout the several viewsif;

The .ordmary binfoldhavine the usuai cherie acteristics of -s mootl'ileather and rounded core,v

ners lends itself readily to stealthy manipulation by apickpocket.'I'he'pickpockets stealthy'nf gersi'riayreach into the pocket of theownerljpf the billfold and, in grasping the billfold, may conne all'ofthe plies or folded elements of the billfod into one compact packagewhich slips easily out of the pocket. My xinvention on the other handrelates not only to the provisionf'of special friction parts for abillfold but also-to the disposition of such parts in specialrelationship to elements of the billfold which may not .be readilygrasped by the stealthy fingers of the pickpocket, and which will.become an impediment to stealthy release of the billfold from thewearers pocket.

As shown in the drawing, my billfold I Il includes the usual principalfoldable elements :n II and I2 with any suitable device, suchastheginsert I3, there forming a pocket for paper mony and the] entirefold being hingedly bendablej ;at I4. These elements II, I2, and I3 arecustorfnarily made of leather or leather-like material lining iii.'l

Marginally ofthe extension I5, at I8, I provide and 1, therefore,usuallyl form my extension I5 of the sarneleather piece out ofwhich'the'principal folding parts of the' billfoldare made.. I alsoprovidA a lining I6 for the inside surface of the extension I5. `I makethis lining of leather or sary stiffness, I insert a fiber ply I1 underthel band as a'ifri'ction materialfto bear band' I8'y may bema'd'e offother 'material than suede leathersince theffundamental purposeis thatof providing the friction `just referred to.; To" make "a,longlivedconstruction, I also stiifen the'band I8 by means of an inserted stifffiber I9,- as'sh'own'most clearly in Fig. 3.A .jFi'g'sLi and' 5 showsomewhat diagrammati-- cally thedisposition yof' my billfold in a pocket20" offa wearer., Thus, whenmy billfold is in` serted'g in the pocket ofthe wearer, as indicated the extensionfl is 'oflesser height than `thebillfold iri.`genera1, and when the stealthyngers of thepickpocket areinserted in the pocket., of. the wearer to grasp 4the billfold,,

. the vnatural grasping point at 2| (Figs. 4 and 5) is so disposed thatthere is no tendency for the pickpockets fingers to grasp the extensionI5. As the billfold is pulled upwardly, as shown in Fig. 5, the frictionmaterial at I8 tends to resist outward movement, and immediately, theexten-` sion assumes v an outstanding position from the billfold III soas to virtually block further movement. Obviously, by the time thebillfold has assumed position shown in Fig. 5, further stealthyretraction is impossible, and even'if the attention of the wearer haslnot yet been called to the pilfering, the pickpocket must abandon hisextension is hingedly disposed to hold the billfold in closed position,any'bulking of contents in the billfold will tend to thrust tlie band I8 away from from rthe point of view of pliability, bendability,

the billfold and increase the frictional resistance of the extensionagainst the pocket of the wearer, thus emphasizing the resistance of thebillfold to any retreating movement unless the' fingers of the ownerhold the extension flat against the folded billfold.

I claim:

1. In a billfold, the combination with a backing ply extendingcontinuously the length of the billfold, and at least'l one receptacleforming ply, of a longitudinal extension of the backing ply having aflexible portion at the end of the billfold to comprise a transversehinge upon'whlch said extension is pivotally movable to and from aposition fiat against a face of the billfold,

means stiffening a substantial area of said ex-" terminating whereby thecontents of said portion will tend to tension beyond said flexibleportion whereby said stiffened area is movable unitarily as a lever uponsaid hinge, and pocket engaging means substan' tially at the free end ofsaid extension and exf posed toward the face of the extension which isoutermost in said position for-engaging the inside cf a pocket intowhich said billfold isinserted with said hinge down, thereby tending toengaging means comprises a band of rough sin'-` faced material extendingtransversely at the free 'end of, the extension and provided with aninternal padmeans whereby it vprojects substantially from the face of'the'extension for pocket engage; ment.. l 4 f 3. The combination with abillfold, of a flap constituting an extension from the end of thebillfold, said `flap comprising a relatively rigid: lever member havinga flexible web connecting it with the endofthe billfold for hingedmovement to and from a position fiat against the face of the billfold,said lever member being approximately the width of the billfold andmaterially shorter than the billfold and being provided at its free endremote from said web with a band of friction material extending acrosssaid free end and adapted for engagement with a pocket in which thebillfold is carried with said flexible web down, said band being adaptedby frictional engagement with said Ypocket to fulcrum internally againstsaid pocket whereby to afford in-v creasing Vresistance to withdrawal ofthe billfold press'thefree end of said lever member outwardly,said'lever member being provided at such ir'ee eiidvwithv frictionmaterial exposed outfwardly from saidface and adapted for engagementwith the inner surface of a pocket in which -thecontainer isY carriedwith said free end of said lever member projecting in the direction ofwithfrom the pocket.

drawal', said friction material being adapted for engagement with saidpocket to cause said lever member to ful'crum internally against thepocket to increase its angularityrespecting the container to aifordincreasing resistance to withdraw the containery from the pocket bydeforming the pocket unless such lever member is, held to the containerduring such withdrawal. y

. 5. The combination withv a billfold having av transversely foldablecurrency receivingportion, of a flap in hinged connection with one endof said portion and normally folding across the other end of saidportion, said ap being materially shorter than the billfold and havinga. free end portion terminating substantially midway of the foldedcurrency receiving portion ofthe billfold, means rendering said flapsubstantially .rigid to constitute .a lever, said flap having at itssaid free end a ba'nd of friction material outwardly exposed and adaptedfor engagement withv the pocket in which the folded billfold is carriedwith said free end of said lever member projecting in the direction ofWithdrawal, the contents of the folded billfold being adapted to forcesuch` free end toward the pocket and the frictional engagementofsuchmaterial with said pocket being adapted to establish a fulcrum forthe free endr of the flap upon whichit will pivot outwardly from thebillfold to afford increasing resistance to withdrawal of the billfoldfrom the` pocket unless such flap is manually held to the face of thebillfold to disengage ,said friction material LEE B. MILLER.4

